Bilstein 5100 rear shocks overextended?

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I apologize if this is redundant, my search turned up nothing. I researched and decided to do the bilstein 5100 shocks with ome 895/885 springs route that the 4th gen guys do. I’m in the process of installing everything and then it hit me...the gx470’s have to be converted from bags to coils and my sso conversion kit adds a minimum of .75”. The ome springs are a 2” in the rear, so with the conversion kit that’s 2.75” or lift, not 2”. The bilstein 5100 rear shocks are for a 0-2” lift. Now I am worried about over extending them. This is probably why most gx guys don’t do the bilstein route and do boss, Fox, icon, radflo, etc as they are 1-3” shocks. Any advice?
 
Certainly don't want to derail your thread, but are Billstein 5100s OK to install if I want to maintain stock height? Or should I go with 4600s? Not really looking for more lift, just a better overall ride. I have a 2011 460 without AHC.
 
Not sure on the shock recommendations to maintain stock height on the GX460.

On the OPs question on rear Bilstein 5100s for GX470, they come in various lengths to meet your needs. Here are a few listings from my research across a couple of brands. There’s more variety all around.
  • Bilstein 5100 33-187174 14.91/23.5 $80/ea
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  • Bilstein 5160 25-227611; 14.83/23.5; $153/ea
  • Icon-56505 15.05/24.5 9.45 $160/ea rebuildable adjustable
  • Icon-56550 17”/28.5” long travel $160/ea, rebuildable, adjustable
 
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Oh one more thing. My research indicates that the 4Runner height/lift numbers are about a 1/2” to an 1” shorter than on a GX470.

So, if you see that a rear coil gets 2” lift on 4R, then you are going to get 1/2” to 1” less on the GX470.

this is based on posts on this forum. My personal experience was only on used dobinson rear coils that got me 1/2” less than advertised on 4Runner lifts
 
Bilstein 5100 24-186742 16.14/26.15 $72/ea
These are for GM trucks with eyelets on both ends, so not compatible with our trucks.

I have the 7174's with Dobinsons 2" lift and they work just fine for my needs. I am happy with them.
 
I have the 7174’s as well and that is why I am worried about over extending them due to the sso .75” min lift from conversion plus 2” 895 ome springs, but maybe since on a gx the lift height isn’t as much it balances out?

Fox shock makes one with extended length of 24.65”. 260$ shipped for a pair on eBay. That would certainly work. Anybody need some brand new bilstein 5100’s 7174 part number, lol.

I guess to actually find out unless someone has ran my same setup I’ll have to do some flexing and measuring.
 
I am using the MT kit. If it stops raining, I can put a jack under my truck to see how much droop I have remaining.
 
These are for GM trucks with eyelets on both ends, so not compatible with our trucks.

I have the 7174's with Dobinsons 2" lift and they work just fine for my needs. I am happy with them.
My bad. Strike that shock from my list.
 
My ride height in the rear is 23" and topped out at 26.5"
 
@CarolinaGX thats with stock sway bars and stock lower links?

i would suspect that the stock sway bar, sotck end links, and stock lower links would limit your flex before the shocks.

anyone know the compressed and extended length of the stock oem rear shocks?
 
@HomersCanyonero , no that is with homemade LCA's set to stock length, Gen2 lower sway links, and stock rear sway. I jacked it up at the trailer hitch so as to allow the entire axle to droop. Total travel of the 7174 shock seems to be 8.59" so it has more up travel than droop.
 
Bilstein 5100 33-187174 14.91/23.5

So, you are right on spec 8.59=23.5-14.91.

so your shock is the limiting factor in your articulation?
 
Yes, I just went back out and checked again. The Sway bar to sway bar link had plenty of room (angle) to allow more movement.

It would be interesting to have a shock database for our trucks to show compressed/extended length, and total travel.
 
By my estimation, by going with a shock any longer than the bilstein 7174 (compressed length) it will require dropping the bump stops to prevent the shock from bottoming out. Perhaps others can share from their experience.
 
@CarolinaGX It's great that you have the tools and jacks to measure articulation. My floor jack barely lets me change the tire when lifting from the axle, so I can't measure my articulation in my driveway unless I get creative. I don't have ramps either.

My rear lift is somewhat similar to yours. I have the 4R Gen2 end links (Proforged ones) like yours and are about 1" longer than the GX470 stock oem end links. I'm also using the MetalTech coil conversion kit stage 2 with the Toyota isolators. And I'm awaiting the backordered ReszFab offset, extended by 1/8" to 3/16", and non-adjustable rear lower links. I do have the Icon extended rear shocks 56550 (17/27.5) and the variable rate Dobinson C59-675V coils, so I'm eager to figure out how to measure articulation once my setup is complete, but it's good to know that the sway bars are not limiting your articulation and gives me hope to articulate more with my extended rear shocks and coils.

Getting back to the OP...how does all this tie back to the original question? Well, you have the shorter GX470 stock oem rear sway bar end links and you also have the straight factory oem rear lower links. These two items might limit your flexibility/articulation a little more than CarolinaGX. That would be my guess, but not sure.

Also, @dsm4ever compare the OME rear coils to the Dobinson ones:

* OME 895 15.35" free length, 260 lbs/in spring rate
* OME 2895e 14.76" free length, 260 lbs/in spring rate

Compare that to the Dobinson rear coils:
* Dob C59-675V 18.5" free length (although my used ones were 19"), 16mm wire, 157-230 lbs/in variable rate.
* Dob C59-325 16.54" free length, 17mm wire, 220 lbs/in spring rate

And notice the higher spring rate on the OME's. That's why they like to have some weight on them.

Anyways, it seems to me that you might not get the full 2.75" rear lift that you were predicting...maybe at 2" and your stock oem rear lower links and stock oem rear sway bar end links might contribute to limiting the articulation.

But maybe someone with a similar setup that you are describing can chime in.
 
I appreciate everyone's input. Once I get everything together (hopefully tomorrow) I can take some measurements and report back. I do plan to extend the rear sway bar end links by 1".
 
Take before and after hub to fender measurements to see how much lift you end up with
 
I suggest that you install what you have and drive/wheel it. My suspension has not been the limiting factor offroad, the nut behind the wheel is. Additionally, the front is more likely to lift a wheel than the rear.

@HomersCanyonero did you lower your bump stops to account for the longer shock?
 
I haven’t addressed the rear bumpstops yet. Still running the 4.25” stock GX470 bumpstops. Waiting for my rear lower links to ship, so I can figure out what to put in
 

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